The Namesake
Why is naming so important?
• For Gogol, his name is a source of embarrassment and for his father it is more of salvation
• His name is the start of his family traditions, but he eventually does not follow any of the traditions
Does your name identify who you are?
• A person’s name is an identifier and may end up being more than just a name
• A name may connect with something else (like naming after a grandparent to represent them) – Gogol’s name represents his father’s close to death experience
• Pg 28: it is suggested to name the baby after the parents’ names, but in the Indian heritage you are not supposed to name the baby after the parents because to each person a name has its own meaning
• Dislocation: Gogol feels at home in America, but his parents don’t because they are Indian and they live by Indian culture
• The name Nikhil represents him better than the name Gogol because – Gogol more represent his father
• In Bengali a persons name can serve the predestination of the person’s life
The Overcoat:
• To be a copier you have to be literate
• Person copies documents by hand - you are basically a copy machine
Is there another name Gogol could have been called in the book?
• The letter from the grandmother could have shown up later
Pg. 286
Randomness of life: Are things determined or at random?
• Survival guilt: why you were spared and others were killed – Gogol’s father has this feeling after the train accident – why is he the only one in his cart that is spared?
• Hashimi – never feels at home in America, so she goes back to India when her husband dies
Does Gogol feel at home anywhere?
• He was never really comfortable anywhere because he is part of two different worlds
• He feels like an outsider
• He did not want to be connected with his father’s past – he did not go to MIT (like his father wanted), he went to Yale
How does opening the book about his name for the first time affect Gogol?
• Makes him miss his father and makes
• For Gogol, his name is a source of embarrassment and for his father it is more of salvation
• His name is the start of his family traditions, but he eventually does not follow any of the traditions
Does your name identify who you are?
• A person’s name is an identifier and may end up being more than just a name
• A name may connect with something else (like naming after a grandparent to represent them) – Gogol’s name represents his father’s close to death experience
• Pg 28: it is suggested to name the baby after the parents’ names, but in the Indian heritage you are not supposed to name the baby after the parents because to each person a name has its own meaning
• Dislocation: Gogol feels at home in America, but his parents don’t because they are Indian and they live by Indian culture
• The name Nikhil represents him better than the name Gogol because – Gogol more represent his father
• In Bengali a persons name can serve the predestination of the person’s life
The Overcoat:
• To be a copier you have to be literate
• Person copies documents by hand - you are basically a copy machine
Is there another name Gogol could have been called in the book?
• The letter from the grandmother could have shown up later
Pg. 286
Randomness of life: Are things determined or at random?
• Survival guilt: why you were spared and others were killed – Gogol’s father has this feeling after the train accident – why is he the only one in his cart that is spared?
• Hashimi – never feels at home in America, so she goes back to India when her husband dies
Does Gogol feel at home anywhere?
• He was never really comfortable anywhere because he is part of two different worlds
• He feels like an outsider
• He did not want to be connected with his father’s past – he did not go to MIT (like his father wanted), he went to Yale
How does opening the book about his name for the first time affect Gogol?
• Makes him miss his father and makes